When flying your DJI drone it’s very easy to get caught it out in the rain, especially if you’re trying to get footage of thunderstorms. That said, are DJI drone waterproof?
There are currently no waterproof DJI drones on the market. That said, DJI drones are water-resistant. They are manufactured with different levels of water resistance, which is known as an IP rating. For example, the DJI M200 series has an IP43 rating, which means the drone is protected against spraying water.
Keep reading to find out exactly how you can differentiate waterproof and water-resistance, as well as how you can waterproof a DJI drone.
What’s The Difference Between Waterproof and Water Resistant Drones?
Before finding out how water resistant your drone is, it’s important to understand the difference between waterproof, and water-resistant.
- WATERPROOF. By definition, if something is waterproof, that means it is impervious to water and is essentially watertight. Drones have lots of technical components, and if water gets to those components, the drone won’t work anymore. So a waterproof drone will have an airlocked body to protect those components from water.
- WATER-RESISTANT means that the drone can resist the penetration of water to some degree but not entirely. A drone that is water-resistant can block off only some water, stuff such as splashes, and light rain.
So just to be clear, there are currently NO waterproof DJI drones. That said, to find out how much water your drone can withstand we’re going to have to look in the drones user manual, or it’s IP rating.
How To Find Out How Water Resistant Your DJI Drone Is
There are two ways you can check how water resistent your DJI drone is.
- First, you can look in the user manual. The manual is great but it will give you very vague information.
- Or you can look up the drones IP rating for a more in-depth explanation of how much water your drone can handle.
Keep reading to find out exactly how to use these methods.
01. Check the DJI user manual.
Usually, whether the drone can fly in the rain or land on water, is written in the “FLIGHT” chapter under “FLIGHT CONDITIONS” of the user manual. If you don’t have access to your drone’s manual anymore, you can also look for a copy online with a simple google search.
02. Check your drones IP rating.
The first step is to find your drone’s IP rating. The number usually has two letters written as ‘IP’, followed by two numbers. So the entire rating will look like this “IP43.”
This rating isn’t written at one place as a standard, so you’re going to have to hunt it down from one of these four places.
- Your drones manual.
- On the body of the drone.
- The product page where you purchased your drone from.
- As a last resort, call customer support.
Found it? great! Here’s what the numbers mean.
You only need to look at the last digit of your IP code, because the first number has to do with solid particles, while the last number covers liquids, which is what were interested in.
For example, if your IP rating is IP43, the number ‘3’ will give you your water-resistant rating.
Once you’ve found your IP codes last digit then use the below table to figure out what it means.
| Second Digit/Number: | Protected against: | Effective against: | Details of test: | Example: |
| X | – | – | This means that there is no data available. | IP3X |
| 0 | No protection. | Nothing. | No test. | IP30 |
| 1 | Dripping water. | Vertically water dripping onto the electronic device while rotating at 1 RPM. | Test was done for 10 minutes with 1mm rainfall per minute. | IP31 |
| 2 | Dripping water when tilted at 15° | Vertically dripping water while electronic object is tilted at 15°, Four positions were tested with two axis. | Total of 10 minutes performed, 20m30s for each direction. Used 3mm of rainfall per minute. | IP32 |
| 3 | Water spraying. | Water is falling at 60° from vertical as a spray. | Test lasted for 1 minute per square meter for a minimum of 5 minutes. Water volume is 10 litres per minute. | IP33 |
| 4 | Water splashing. | Water splashing from any direction. | Test lasted for at-least 10 minutes using a oscillating tube. | IP34 |
| 5 | Water jets. | Water jetted against an enclosure. | Test lasts at-least 3 minutes with 12.5 litres per minute. | IP35 |
| 6 | Powerful water jets. | Water jetted with more power against enclosure. | Test lasts at-least 3 minutes with 100 litres per minute. | IP36 |
| 6K | Powerful water jets with increased pressure. | Water jetted with even more power against enclosure. | Test lasts at-least 3 minutes with 75 litres per minute. | IP36K |
| 7 | Immersion, up to 1 meter (3 ft 3 in) depth. | Electronic device can be fully immersed under water up to 3 feet and 3 inches. | In the test the device was immersed for 30 minutes. | IP37 |
| 8 | Immersion, 1 meter (3 ft 3 in) or more depth. | Can be fully immersed for a longer period of time. Exact amount decided my manufacturer. | Tested for duration decided by manufacturer. | IP38 |
| 9K | Powerful high-temperature water jets. | Protected against high pressure and high temperature water. | Test lasts for a minimum of 3 minutes with water temperature of 80 °C (176 °F) | IP39K |
How To Waterproof a DJI Drone
DJI drones may be water-resistant but they can’t take a lot of water. However, there are ways to either improve a drones water-resistance or make the drone fully waterproof.
The various drone waterproofing methods are all designed for people of different levels. Some people may be more comfortable with opening up their drones, whereas some people wouldn’t want to open up their drones at all.
Here are a few of the best waterproofing options for your drone:
| Method: | Required Skill Level: | |
| 1. | DryDrone Shake & Bake. | You need to be comfortable with taking your drone apart. |
| 2. | CorrosionX HD. | You only need to be able to remove the outer cover of the drone. |
| 3. | Drone Wetsuit. | This method is for people who are not comfortable opening up a drone at all. |
| 4. | Silicone Conformal Coating. | Use this method if you don’t mind stripping your drone as much as possible. |
Method 1: DryDrone Shake ‘n Bake
Follow these steps to apply:
- Prepare the electronic components to be soaked in the Shake ‘n Bake solution.
- Fill an eyedropper with some DryDrone and squeeze it into the Shake ‘n Bake bag. The amount you use depends on how much you think is necessary to cover your electronic component. One thing to remember is that you can still pour the solution back in the bottle, so you’re not wasting it.
- Close the bottle when this is completed.
- Place the electronic component you wish to be coated into the bag and close it. Squeeze as much air out of the bag as possible.
- The next step is to shake it, making sure all the components have been completely covered.
- When you have done that, remove it from the bag with the paper clip provided.
- When that is completed, move on to the next component.
- You could also brush the solution on any electronic components that you don’t want to remove from the drone.
- The last step is to brush over all the electronic ports.
Method 2: CorrosionX HD
Follow these steps to apply:
- The first step is to take out your drone’s battery and any media cards.
- You need to remove the outer casing to expose electronic components.
- Lay the parts out on some newspaper or a large paper towel or do spray the components outside.
- Before you start spraying, you need to shake the can.
- Aim the nozzle at the components you want to spray.
- First, spray the printed circuit boards. A lot will come out, so make sure you can control it.
- Next, you can spray it on any electronic motor connections. You can find them where the wires that come out of the motors meet with a printed circuit board.
- Once that’s done, you can then spray it on all the ports. You don’t have to worry about things not connecting because it won’t stop any electric current.
- Make sure you cover every single part.
Method 3: Drone Wetsuit
Mavic 2 Hail Storm and Rain with Mavic Rain Wet Suit from Phantom Rain . ORG on Vimeo.
This method is different from the other methods and probably the most user-friendly method. For this method, you don’t need to take apart your drone, however, keep in mind that it might be a lot more expensive than buying a coating.
Wetsuits for the DJI Phantom 4 will cost you around $69, but if you don’t want to open your drone at all then it might be your only option.
Another drawback is these wet suits are not nearly as effective as some of the coating methods above. The Wetsuits are designed to keep the water from getting to the most important electronic components by going through the cracks of the body.
However, they do very little for the motors of the drone, which will still be exposed to the elements so the drone can fly. This is still your best option if you are not comfortable opening up a drone and coating it with the other solutions.
Here’s a list of DJI drone wetsuites:
| Drone Type: | Price: | Buy Link: |
| Phantom 4 Wetsuits | $94.99 | VIEW |
| DJI Mavic Wetsuits | $84 | VIEW |
| DJI Mavic 2 Wetsuits | $90 | VIEW |
| DJI Mavic Pro Platinum Wetsuits | $80 | VIEW |
| DJI Mavic Mini Wetsuits | $50 | VIEW |
| DJI Mavic Zoom Wetsuits | $80 | VIEW |
Method 4: Silicone Conformal Coating
Follow these steps to apply:
- First things first, you need to remove the drones battery and any media cards.
- You need to expose as many printed circuit boards as possible.
- Start brushing the silicone over printed circuit boards. Cover as much as possible. The parts that you have covered should have a slight shine to them, so you will be able to see the parts that you have missed.
- Make sure to cover any chips and electronic motor connections where the wires meet with the printed circuit board.
- These parts aren’t nearly as sensitive. And I would recommend using Shake ‘n Bake or CorrosionX instead.
- The only electronics you can’t cover with silicone are the ports.
10 Best Waterproof Drones
If you are in search of a new waterproof drone, and you aren’t too keen on any of the above waterproofing options, here is a table below of some of the best waterproof drones on the market:
| Drone Name: | Functional Time: | Range: | Camera Quality: | Price: | Purchase Link: |
| Splash Drone 3 | 18 min | 1.5 miles | 4K | $1,599 | VIEW |
| PowerRay | 4 hours | 98 ft | 4K | $999 | VIEW |
| AguaDrone | 18 min | 120 ft | 1080p | $699 | VIEW |
| BIKI | 120 min | 196 ft | 4K | $800 | VIEW |
| JJRC H31 | 10 min | 262 ft | 720P | $45 | VIEW |
| Goolsky Ideafly Poseidon | 12 min | 2952 ft | GoPro Hero 3/4 | $2800 | VIEW |
| Goolsky Q353 Triphibian | 7 min | 492 ft | No camera | $100 | VIEW |
| Parrot Hydrofoil | 7 min | 65 ft | VGA mini camera(480X640) | $115 | VIEW |
| QuadH2O | 12 min | 2,1 miles | GoPro Hero 3/4 | $2800 | VIEW |
| ProDrone PD4-AW | 21 min | 1,24 miles | GoPro Hero 5 | $1000-$10000 | VIEW |
